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Flight deck of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, showing catapult layout

CATOBAR (catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery^[1] or catapult-assisted take-off barrier arrested recovery^[2]) is a system used for the launch and recovery of aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier. Under this technique, aircraft launch using a catapult-assisted take-off and land on the ship (the recovery phase) using arrestor wires.

Although this system is costlier than alternative methods, it provides greater flexibility in carrier operations, since it imposes less onerous design elements on fixed wing aircraft than alternative methods of launch and recovery such as STOVL or STOBAR, allowing for a greater payload for more ordnance and/or fuel. CATOBAR can launch aircraft that lack a high thrust to weight ratio, including heavier non-fighter aircraft such as the E-2 Hawkeye and Grumman C-2 Greyhound.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Types

The catapult system in use in most modern CATOBAR carriers is the steam catapult. Its primary advantage is the amount of power and control it can provide. During World War II the US Navy used a hydraulic catapult.

The United States and China are completing the development of electromagnetic catapult to launch carrier-based aircraft using a linear motor drive instead of steam. The electromagnetic catapult is found on the American Gerald R. Ford-class carriers (the electromagnetic aircraft launch system)^[6] and the Chinese carrier Fujian.

Current users

Following the decommissioning of Brazil's NAe São Paulo in February 2017, only three states currently operate carriers that use the CATOBAR system: the U.S. with its Nimitz-class and Gerald R. Ford-class, France with its Charles De Gaulle, and China with its Type-003 Fujian.

Active CATOBAR aircraft carrier classes

Class	Origin	No. of ships	Propulsion	Displacement	Operator	Aircraft carried	Catapult
Nimitz	United States	10	Nuclear	100,020 t (220,510,000 lb)	United States Navy	F/A-18C Hornet F/A-18E/F Super Hornet F-35C Lightning II EA-18G Growler C-2 Greyhound E-2C/D Hawkeye	C-13-1 or C-13-2 steam
Gerald R. Ford	United States	1	Nuclear	100,000 t (220,000,000 lb)	United States Navy	F/A-18E/F Super Hornet F-35C Lightning II EA-18G Growler E-2D Hawkeye	EMALS
Charles de Gaulle	France	1	Nuclear	42,500 t (93,700,000 lb)	French Navy	Rafale M E-2C Hawkeye	C-13-3 steam

CATOBAR carriers under construction

Class	Origin	No. of ships	Propulsion	Displacement	Operator	Aircraft carried	Catapult
Gerald R. Ford	United States	2	Nuclear	100,000 t (220,000,000 lb)	United States Navy	F/A-18E/F Super Hornet F-35C Lightning II E-2D Hawkeye	EMALS
Fujian (Type 003)	China	1	Conventional	08000 80,000+ t	People's Liberation Army Navy	Shenyang J-15 Shenyang J-35 Xi'an KJ-600 Harbin Z-20	EM catapult^[7]
Type 076	China	1	Conventional	48,000 t	People's Liberation Army Navy	Hongdu GJ-11	EM catapult
PANG	France	1	Nuclear	75,000 t	French Navy	Dassault Rafale M or FCAS	EMALS

List of CATOBAR aircraft

F/A-18E/F – only operated by the US Navy.
EA-18G – only operated by the US Navy.
C-2A – only operated by the US Navy.
F/A-18 – only operated by the US Navy and Marine Corps.
Rafale M – only operated by the French Navy.
E-2C/D – only active with the US Navy and the French Navy.
F-35C – only operated by the US Navy and Marine Corps.
J-15T

Potential users

The Chinese Fujian (Type 003) features an integrated electric propulsion system that will allow the operation of electromagnetic catapults, similar to the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) used by the United States Navy.^[8]^[9]

INS Vishal, India's second indigenous aircraft carrier of the Vikrant-class, is planned to be of 65,000 ton displacement and to utilize the EMALS catapults developed by General Atomics, as it supports heavier fighters, AEW aircraft and UCAVs that cannot launch using a STOBAR ski jump ramps.^[10]